In South Korea, distributing or even mentioning online anything that praises its Communist neighbour North Korea is illegal; and one man has found that the hard way, as prosecutors in Seoul have announced charges against a 54-year-old man who can only be identified as Cho.

The man is said to, according to the Yonhap News Agency, to have distributed and retweeted contents from the official North Korean website, Uriminzokkiri, to his 3,000 followers; and some of the statements included, according again to Yonhap, of accusing both the South Korean and American governments for fabricating the sinking of a South Korean warship and blaming it on the North.

He is also accused of posting 100 messages and video clips between 2009 and October 2010 on his blog and on other websites praising the succession of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s youngest son, Kim Jong-un.

South Korea and North Korea have been at war since 1950, despite an armistice signed in 1953 ended the Korean War. Both sides, however, are working at a resolution – but recent altercations between the border have made that hard.